Conscience Awakenings
by Pandora's Imp
Summary: Jiminy and Red right after the Cruse breaks
1. Chapter 1

Archie Hopper took a deep breath.

"Ruby, would you like to have dinner with me Saturday?"

He shook his head and sighed.

"Ruby, are you busy Saturday? Because I was thinking with you working in the diner it might be a nice change if someone cooked for you and I'm pretty handy in the kitchen so.."

Another sigh, shoulders slumped, he turned away from the mirror and leaned against the counter.

This shouldn't be so hard. He counseled people every day to get over their fears, but despite a growing friendship and knowing he had granny's approval, he had yet to muster enough courage to ask Ruby to something as simple as dinner.

He knew he should just do it. Today was going to be the day.

He stared at the floor, trying again to think of the right words. He took another deep breath and turned around to face the mirror.

"Ruby, you and I have known each other for a long time and I consider you a good friend. I'd never want that to change but I know if you give me a chance, even just one date, I could show you a night where you are treated like the wonderful woman that you are. No expectations no pressure just one date."

It sounded like he was begging.

He glanced at the clock`s reflection in the mirror. It was time to go. Today was the day Ruby and her grandmother went shopping for groceries and supplies. If he timed it right he would meet them and get his shopping done while spending time with Ruby.

He looked at himself one last time.

"So this is what you've become Archie, a stalker of old ladies and their granddaughters. All because you can't gather up the courage and ask for a simple date."

Today he would do it. Today was the day.

He grabbed his things and headed out. He didn't even make it off the front step of his office when a gust of wind blew past him and in an instant, everything changed.

He sat down with his back against his office door as all his memories came flooding back: the curse, the wardrobe, the Blue Fairy, the young boy who was kind enough to give him an umbrella and was repaid with the lost of his parents.

Gepetto! He had to find Gepetto.

Except what if he was the only one who remembered? He looked at his hands, flipping them over and back. If the curse was broken, he should be back in his land.

He also shouldn't be human.

He got up and walked to the street, hoping to see if others were showing any signs of remembering, but there were no people. There was no street. A giant purple cloud was encompassing everything, hurtling towards him. He closed his eyes and put his arms up to his face, bracing himself for the transformation. This was it. The curse was broken and in moments everyone would be back home and he would go back to being a cricket.

He felt the thickness of the cloud surround him. He heard the whoosh as the smoke rolled past. Within moments, the air thinned and he felt nothing. Slowly, he opened his eyes, shocked to still see arms and hands. He was still human.

He was also still in Storybrooke.

Something wasn't right. He needed to find Gepetto, he needed to find the Blue Fairy.

He started walking and several blocks later he realized he wasn't heading to the workshop or the convent.

He was heading to Granny's Diner.

* * *

The diner was closed. This worried him. It was an obvious spot for people to gather and Granny knew this. If she wasn't here, something wasn't right.

People had already begun to gather outside. Two men were staring at the closed sign. Walter and..

No, not Walter and not men. Dwarves.

Sleepy and Sneezy were staring at the closed sign. Sneezy looked up at him.

'We were hoping to find Grumpy here. Do you think Red and Granny are ok?"

He did his best to smile at them. "I hope so."

He starting walking to the bed and breakfast. Picking up the pace with each step until soon he was running. He didn't stop until he reached the Inn's door.

As he entered he could hear Granny upstairs.

"Red please come out. You can't do this to yourself. The curse messed with everybody!"

Winded and unable to speak, he took a moment to get his breathing back to normal.

"Red we don't have time for this, please listen to me!"

He went to the bottom of the staircase and called up.

"Granny? Is everything alright?"

Granny came down the stairs, looking dishevelled and worried.

"Oh Archie thank god." She shook her head. "I mean Jiminy, sorry."

"No need to apologize. We've all been different people for a lot of years, it's going to take time to adjust."

"If we have time." She replied. "I don't understand why we are still here if the curse is broken and I didn't like the look of whatever rolled through here, but right now I'm more worried about Red."

"What's wrong? Was she hurt?"

"No, well not physically. We were out walking when our memories came back. Red didn't take it well. She threw up on the side of the street, ran back here and locked herself in her room. I don't even think she saw the fog come through. She won't come out, she won't let me in. I was just about to find something to break the door, or pick the lock."

"I don't understand, did she tell you why? Did she say what she's upset about?"

"No, but.. Before the curse hit Red was….well, I'm not sure how to put this." She looked over to the stairs. "Red was innocent in certain ways, if you understand."

"Oh." He replied, and the reality of what that implied sunk in. "OH!"

"Yes, and Ruby-" She sighed. "Well we all know what Ruby was like. I think she is having a hard time reconciling who she was here with who she really is."

"I imagine a lot of people are going through that right now but surely she understands that the curse made us who we are here. She can't blame herself."

"That's what I've been trying to tell her, but she won't listen to me. I'm biased in her eyes. Look, I know you're not really a psychiatrist or Archie Hopper but even before you were always good at providing council. Could you please try talking to her? I know Ruby had a lot of respect for Archie."

His eyes widened in surprise. "She did?"

Granny smiled, "Yes, she did and given your character in both worlds I think you might be the best person to talk to her."

As concerned as he was, he couldn't help feeling proud. "Of course, I'm happy to help, which room is hers?"

"Last door on your left."


	2. Chapter 2

He made his way up the stairs, reminding himself over and over that he was going to talk to Red not Ruby. He didn't even get a chance to knock on the door when she called out from behind.

"Go away Jiminy."

"How did you know it was me?"

"I heard you and Granny talking. Plus I recognized your scent."

"If you heard us then you know we both agree. You can't blame yourself for who you were during the curse."

"Easy for you to say. You weren't the town whore for 28 years."

"Ruby was not a whore!"

His tone surprised him. He was here to help her not yell at her. Being careful to use a more gentle voice, he tried again.

"I have never thought of her that way. In fact, I considered her a friend. A good friend and even though I know she isn't real and neither was Archie, the care and concern I felt for her is still there."

Silence.

"Red can you please let me in? I told Granny I would try and talk to you. If you still don't want to hear anything I have to say after 5 minutes I promise I'll leave you alone."

Still nothing.

He turned around to leave. He was halfway down the hall when he heard the door open.

He turned back and there she was, leaning in the doorway with her arms crossed and her eyes focused on the floor. Her face had streaks of mascara down her cheeks, her eyes were bloodshot, but she still looked beautiful. Although his mind knew the truth, he still felt like Archie, with all the same memories that Archie had that morning. It broke his heart to see her so sad and he had to remind himself again that he wasn't Archie, she wasn't Ruby, and he was there for a reason. There was no room the emotions he was feeling, not now.

"Thank you" he said, walking back.

She only looked at him directly for a moment before diverting her eyes back to the ground.

"Look, I appreciate the gesture. I really do, but I can't face anyone. I just can't." Her voice cracked and she stiffened her stance to help her fight back tears.

"But the cur - "

"I know the curse but that's not entirely true. Look at you. You may have been Archie Hopper here but you were in many ways still you, just a different person. In our world you provided council, a conscious voice, here you did the same just in a different place. Look at Granny, different life, but still essentially Granny. And then look at me, look what I became. I am so ashamed."

She started to break down and again fought back to compose herself.

"When I found out about the wolf, it was devastating but I at least had my honor, or thought I did. I thought I could still be a good person, but if this is what I became here, then what kind of person was I really?"

The answer to him was obvious and he smiled gently. "A person with an inner wolf."

She took her eyes off the floor, and looked at him again. Encouraged he continued.

"When we were sent here, it wasn't just Red that came over, your wolf came with you. That's why Ruby had many qualities you have," He paused to make sure he choose the right words, "but also a wilder side that comes from the Wolf."

She thought for a moment then nodded. "That would explain why, but it doesn't excuse the things I've done."

He put his hands in his pockets, deciding what to say next. He didn't think she should be ashamed and was confident no one else would either, but that wouldn't matter to her.

"Well, again, I want to stress that I don't think you have anything to be sorry for, but if it makes you feel better, you might have not done many of those things you're talking about?"

He could tell by the look on her face, she was confused.

"We were given memories when we came here, and time didn't start until Emma showed up. I'm honestly not sure which memories I have actually happened and which were given to me. I know the ones since Emma came are real, since time started again, but everything before that is hazy. So you could be beating yourself up for things you didn't even do."

She stopped leaning against the door and unfolded her arms.

"So you're saying that I don't need to be ashamed at the things that Ruby did because they didn't happen?"

"Yes, I mean no. I mean some things probably happened but some things probably didn't and yes, you don't need to be ashamed but I wish you'd stop talking about Ruby like she was this horrible person. She wasn't. I know Archie was very fond of Ruby."

"You're very kind Jiminy, but we both know Archie would have never been interested in a girl like Ruby. No decent guy would."

Her words shocked him and he without thinking he finally found the courage Archie never could.

"Well actually that's not what I know. What I know is that Archie spent hours practicing different ways to ask her out. Just this morning he was trying to find the right words to ask her out to dinner, but he never had the courage because he thought there was no way an amazing girl like Ruby would be interested in a guy like him."

For the first time since she opened her door she smiled.

"Really?"

"Really. It's too bad he never asked, because now Archie's gone and Ruby's gone and for all we know a war is coming and-"

He was silenced with her lips on his. It was just a brief kiss but still powerful enough to leave him speechless.

She pulled away.

"Thank you" She said.

Still stunned, he asked, "Um, for what?"

"For being here, for not judging me, for helping me, for all the other times you were Archie helping Ruby. But you're wrong about Archie and Ruby being gone. They're still with us. I think they will always be with us."

"And are you ok with that?"

"I've dealt with far worse things from my past. Plus, if the conscience of the kingdom thinks I'm a good person, then I think that's a pretty good reference."

He chuckled at the compliment but remembered Granny and the urgency of their situation.

Red understood. "I know we have to get going, but even with everything that is going on, if the opportunity arises, and you still want to, maybe we can still have that dinner Archie wanted to have?"

He stood there in shock, staring at her in awe as he did so often in the diner when he thought Ruby wasn't looking.

"Of course only if you want to." Red said, mistaking his silence for hesitation.

"No, I want to." He gave his head a shake. "I mean yes. Yes, I'd like that very much."

Smiling, she walked past him and headed downstairs, but his smile faded as soon as she passed.

He didn't want to ruin the moment by telling he wasn't sure he'd even be human by then. She had been through enough today, and there was still more to come. Plus, he didn't know anything yet but he was sure of one thing. He'd do anything to stop himself from changing back.

END


End file.
